Rigours of wind prompt Ricardo bearing rethink

High in the air and buffeted by gusts and gales, wind-turbine gearboxes present a range of opportunities for failure. The durability of these bearings is therefore key – especially on offshore wind farms, where cost of maintenance is high.

Engineers at Ricardo, who have developed cost models for gearbox-maintenance activities, estimate the typical cost of a repair arising from the failure of certain bearings at €430,000 (£370,000) for an installation 20km offshore. This is based on a North Sea installation with average weather patterns for a fault arising in October. The high cost and long downtime threatens the viability of commercial offshore installations, but also provides the opportunity for engineers to add value to a component that may cost less than €1,000 (£870).

Ricardo has designed a solution that it believes could make the service life of bearings in such gearboxes six times longer. Funding from a share of £3m, provided by the Northern Wind Innovation Programme (NWIP), will see the company work with a manufacturer of large industrial bearings and academics at Sheffield University to take the concept further.